How to Fix Taskbar Sound Mixer Not Showing in Windows 11

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Easily troubleshoot the volume mixer when it won't open

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: April 10, 2026 Fact Checked

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Restart Windows Explorer

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Restart Audio Service

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Run DISM and SFC

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Update Windows

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Reregister System Apps

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Use Run

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Is the sound mixer menu not showing when you click on the volume icon in your taskbar? This is a frustrating issue, especially when it starts happening for seemingly no reason. This could be caused by a number of things (including random bugs, glitches, or corrupted files), but thankfully, there are a handful of easy fixes that can help. Keep reading to learn how.

Sound Mixer Menu Not Showing in Taskbar

Try restarting Windows Explorer or the Windows Audio Service.
Run DISM and SFC to fix any corrupted files that could affect the sound mixer menu.
Check for any pending Windows updates.
Reregister your system apps to fix any random issues that could be affecting the taskbar.
Use the Run dialog to open the old-school volume mixer if nothing else works.

Method 1

Method 1 of 6:

Restart Windows Explorer

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The easiest way to do this is to right-click the taskbar and click Task Manager.
It's usually at the very bottom of the processes list, but you can also search for it using the search bar at the top of the window.

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This will pull up a contextual menu with a number of options.
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Click Restart. You'll see the taskbar at the bottom of your screen disappear for a few seconds, and then it will come back. Your Explorer (including the taskbar) has been refreshed.^{[1]
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- Try opening the sound mixer menu now; if it doesn't work, you'll need to try one of the other options in this article.

Method 2

Method 2 of 6:

Restart the Windows Audio Service

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Open your Windows services list. The easiest way to do this is to type services into the taskbar search bar and click Services in the Start menu that pops up.
The list is alphabetical, so this service will be towards the bottom of the list.
A contextual menu will pop up with a number of options available.
The Windows Audio service will immediately restart. It should only take a few moments for the service to finish restarting.
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Repeat steps 3 and 4 for two more services. Locate "Windows Audio Endpoint Builder" and "Remote Procedure Call (RPC)" and restart those services, as well.^{[2]
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- If you're still not able to open the sound mixer menu from the taskbar, try the other methods in this article.

Method 3

Method 3 of 6:

Run DISM and SFC

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1
Open Command Prompt as an administrator. To do this, type "command prompt" into the taskbar search bar, then right-click "Command Prompt" in the Start menu and choose Run as administrator.
- Running DISM and SFC can fix random issues with the files on your computer that could cause the sound mixer menu to not show up when you try to open it from the taskbar.
- DISM (which stands for Deployment Image Servicing and Management Tool) and SFC (System File Checker) are additional Command Prompt commands that can be used to scan the files on your computer for problems.
- When opening Command Prompt as an admin, you may be required to give confirmation or type your password. Do so if prompted.
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Run DISM. To do so, type DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth into Command Prompt and press ↵ Enter.
- It will take a few moments for DISM to run. Allow it to finish running before moving on to the next step.
3
Run SFC. To do so, type sfc /scannow into Command Prompt and press ↵ Enter.
- It will take a few moments for SFC to run. Allow it to finish fully before closing the Command Prompt window.
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Check the SFC results. Depending on the result you get, you'll need to do a specific action:^{[3]
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- Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations: SFC did not find any missing or corrupted files.
- Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them: SFC found missing or corrupted files, and it was able to fix them.
- Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation: SFC must be run again in safe mode.
- Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them. You'll have to manually view the SFC process details and replace the files with ones you know are good (or reinstall the program).
  - To do this, type findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >"%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt" into your Command Prompt window and press ↵ Enter. You can then open the sfcdetails.txt file on your Desktop.^{[4]
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Once you run DISM and SFC (and follow up with whatever action you need to take after running SFC), try opening the sound mixer menu again in the taskbar. If it doesn't work, you'll have to try one of the other methods in this article.

Method 4

Method 4 of 6:

Update Windows

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1
Open the Windows Update menu. The easiest way to do this is to type update into the taskbar search bar, then click Check for updates in the Start menu that pops up.
- If nothing else has worked thus far, installing any pending Windows updates might fix the issue, as the issue could be caused by a random OS bug, glitch, or driver issue.
If an update is available, you'll see a Download button near the top of the screen. Click that button to begin the update process. You will likely be asked to restart your computer during this process, so make sure to save any open documents before restarting.

Method 5

Method 5 of 6:

Reregister System Apps

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The easiest way to do this is to type powershell into the taskbar search bar, then right-click Windows PowerShell and select Run as administrator.
Copy and paste this command into PowerShell: Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}.
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Press ↵ Enter. The command will run and reregister all apps. It will take a few moments for this process to finish. You'll see a lot of text appearing in PowerShell; this is normal. Simply let PowerShell finish the process before using your computer again.^{[5]
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- Once the process is done, the PowerShell window will close. Try to use the sound mixer menu; if it doesn't open, try one of the other troubleshooting tips in this article.

Method 6

Method 6 of 6:

Use the Run Command

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To do this, press ⊞ Win+R. If nothing else works, you can use a Run command to open the old Windows volume mixer tool.
Once you do so, you'll see the old-school volume mixer pop up on your screen. If you want to access this tool often, right-click on the volume mixer icon in the taskbar (which looks like a speaker) and click Pin to taskbar. You can then open the volume mixer whenever you want by clicking on that icon in the taskbar.